Virtual Worlds Worth One Billion

An article in the BBC says that analysts Screen Digest believe the valuation of MMOs and online worlds has passed the $1 billion mark. The article mentions worlds like World of Warcraft and Habbo Hotel.

"There's a whole ream of different genres and spaces emerging," said the report author Piers Harding-Rolls.

Revenues from subscriptions to MMOGs will hit $1.5bn by 2011, he said.

But the growth in MMOGs remains limited compared to developing markets such as video on demand, which is expected to be worth $11.4bn from revenues in four years' time.

The range of MMOGs has started to diversify in recent years with new genres and types of games. There has also been an expansion in the different ways the games generate revenue.

The $1 billion evaluation mark is going to seem awfully low very quickly especially if an online world browser allows these universes to expand. The study did find that "10 million people will subscribe to MMOGs by 2011."